Research Supports Homebirth is Safer for Normal Pregnancies

Brittany "Tru" Campbell Home Birth Photo copyright protected 2015

Homebirth is quickly making it's way back to American homes after it's decline in the 1930's due govermental health repramands. It was made almost completely impossible for an African American woman to practice midwifery in the US and slowly, the traditional practice disssapeared from our communities. Lay midwives continued to practice "underground" in some areas to keep the traditon allive. Fastforward to today, professional Midwives are legally authorized to practice in 28 states. Certified Midwives practice legally in only three states. There are many ways to gain certification in Midwifery. I live in the state of Missouri where practicing as a Certified Professional Midwife just became legal in 2007. It seems as if the original natural ways were outlawed to move the nation towards a more governmental hospital approach and now we're just getting back to what's right and true legally.

As a student midwife I feel strongly that your home is the best place to give birth to your beautiful child. Births prove to go smoother with normal pregnancies when in your own natural setting. There are less distractions from people you don't know. This is such a delicate, sacred and very perssonal time, and it is best shared with those you love, know and who care for your birthing journey. As well, baby is born in it's own enviornment with germs that belong to her/his space and to babies families. In hosptials we are open to so many other germs, bacterias and viruses due to illnesses that are ariborne and carry throughout the building, not to mention the multiple people you will come in contact with that bring their own energies and germs from home. Your home is your sacred haven, where you can feel comfortable and have as many loved ones present as you'd wish. If you're passionate about natural and home birth, take a look at this research to further educate yourself and to help educate the community of women and families on their pregnancy and birthing options.

Thanks to very strong and passionate women who've advocated for the rights of pregnant mothers, we've made our voices heard and are rising in numbers! Below you'll find a list of researches that were conducted to support the healthy benefits of home birth. I found this information via the Friends of Missouri Midwives website.

Scientific research studies show that homebirth is safer (sometimes safer) than hospital births.

• Home Births May Be Safer Than Hospital Births, September 2012

• Perinatal mortality and morbidity in a nationwide cohort of 529,688 low-risk planned home and hospital births, November 2009

• Outcomes of planned home birth with registered midwife versus planned hospital birth with midwife or physician, Canadian Medical Association Journal, September 15, 2009

• Outcomes of Planned Home Births with Certified Professional Midwives: Large Prospective Study in North America, British Medical Journal, 2005

• Missouri Out-of-Hospital, C-Section, and Home Birth Birth Rates, 2004

• The Decline in Maternal Mortality in Sweden: The Role of Community Midwifery, 2004

• Outcomes, safety, and resource utilization in a collaborative care birth center program compared with traditional physician-based perinatal care, 2003

• Midwifery care, social and medical risk factors, and birth outcomes in the USA, 1998

• Meta-analysis of the safety of home birth, 1997

• Outcomes of 11,788 planned home births attended by certified nurse-midwives. A retrospective descriptive study, 1995

• The Safety of Home Birth: The Farm Study, American Journal of Public Health, 1992

• Outcomes of care in birth centers. The National Birth Center Study, 1989

• Neonatal Mortality in Missouri Home Births, American Journal of Public Health, 1987